Mann vs Machine: Payback
by Pacmantacco
Summary: It has been eight months since Grey Mann has declared war against Mann Co., eight months of mindless slaughter and eight months since the respawn machines have failed. But the Spy has come up with a plan to bring Grey Mann down to his knees. Will his plan work? Or is he sentencing his own men to death?
1. Chapter 1

Eight months.

It has been eight months since the "Robot War" had started, eight months since the two teams had merged, eight months since Grey Mann had risen and eight months since the respawn machines had been destroyed.

For eight months, the mercenaries have been fighting on borrowed time. They were lucky to have all survived so long. But eventually; the robots would pick them off, one by one, unless they acted quickly.

The tides of war were beginning to change as new types of robots were created and carriers began to deliver the hordes of robot more frequently and in seemingly random patterns. In a matter of days, the mercenaries would most likely die defending Mann Co., those who survived any longer would either become prisoners of war or would attempt to escape the mindless slaughter to no avail. Unless they came up with a new strategy soon, they stood no chance.

* * *

The BLU Engineer was in his room trying to enjoy a couple of hours of well deserved sleep, a luxury that very few of the members got to enjoy, when there was a knock at the door.

"Hey Truckie, you awake?" The Engineer instantly recognized his friend's voice.

"I am now Slim," he called back to the Sniper. "Any particular reason you woke me up so late?" he asked stifling a yawn.

"Spy wants us all in the meeting room," Sniper replied "apparently it's urgent."

"I'll be down in a minute pal." he said groggily.

"Alright mate, I'll be down with the others." with that, Sniper walked down the hall to wake up the next mercenary.

The engineer got out of bed and grabbed his goggles from his desk; wondering what Spy thought was so important that he had to be woken up on a Saturday morning.

* * *

The RED Spy paced nervously around the meeting room. He read his notes to make sure he hadn't overlooked any minor details. The plan was so simple! How could they not have noticed it before? They could defeat the robots once and for all, they could finally go home! He couldn't help but smile at the fact. He looked up from his notes to see if anyone had arrived while he had been deep in thought.

The BLU Demoman lay passed out in his chair clutching a bottle of brandy tightly. The RED Pyro was playing with a match and the BLU Heavy and the RED Scout were arm wrestling. The Scout face was bright red and covered with beads of sweat while Heavy was just laughing heartily. The Spy's grin grew wider as he realized the Heavy was merely toying with him.

Several minutes later, the others burst in. There was a moment of confusion as everyone scrambled to their spots. All the REDs sat on one side of the table and the BLUs on the others.

Funny_,_ Spy thought, even when the two teams had finally banded together they never sat together. There were separate tables for each team in the mess hall, separate resupply rooms and even separate washrooms, not that they even needed them.

He was deep in thought when the BLU Medic got his attention with a cough; the Spy looked up at the doctor in slight confusion.

"Shall ve get started?" he asked.

"But of course" the Spy replied.

He cleared his throat and the room immediately fell silent.

"Gentlemen," he began "I assume you are all wondering why I have gathered you here."

There was a murmur of agreement among the seventeen other mercenaries.

"_Ahem_" he said and once again, the room fell silent. "I have devised a genius plan to finally take down Grey Mann's robot army."

"Genius?" Scout scoffed. "I'll be the judge of that!" he whispered to Soldier who simply rolled his eyes at him.

Ignoring Scout, the Spy continued, "When the robots destroyed our respawn system, it rendered us largely outnumbered now that we could not return to battle after death. Without the respawn machines; dead is dead."

He was answered by several nods and a Pyro's mumble (he could never tell which Pyro was which).

"So, what if we were to destroy the very factory, or should I say; factories they were created in? That way, they wouldn't be able to replace their fallen_ camarades_. Once the factories are out of the way, all we would have to do is defeat any robot remaining."

"One problem mate," the BLU Sniper interrupted. "There's got to be hundreds of those bloody factories!"

But Spy had prepared for that question; he simply suppressed a grin as he slid a folder across the desk. The RED Heavy picked it up and opened it, revealing six pieces of paper. Each one contained information and coordinates of one of six of Grey Mann's factories.

"As I was saying," Spy continued. "There are only six factories of significance; not only do they produce the most robots, but they are also responsible for the construction of explosives, tanks and carriers."

He glanced around the room to make sure everyone was paying attention.

"Without any form of transportation or explosives, the robots will be left stranded at their facilities and will become easy picking." "Any questions?"

The RED Medic stood up.

"Zhe plan seems good, but how are ve to destroy zhe factories? It vill take far more firepower to destroy zhem zhan ve are capable of." he said.

"Ah," the Spy began "remember before the Robot War began? Remember the bomb carts we were once paid to escort to each other's bases? I do believe we nicknamed them "payloads"."

He gazed around the room to make sure everyone was following. Other than the RED Demoman (who still lay passed out in his seat) and the BLU Scout (who was chugging a can of soda) everyone was staring at him intently.

"I have managed to smuggle six of those very payload carts into Teufort, and with the help of Engineer," he said nodding to the RED Engineer, "we have set up several underground railways systems leading to each of the major factories I have mentioned." He took one last look around the room. "Any questions?"

"One," a gruff voice replied. The Soldier stood up "the factories are pretty damn far away from each other, I'm assuming we'll be splitting off into groups for this mission."

"Indeed," the Spy responded "there will be six groups of three to escort each bomb to their respective base, once the bases are destroyed; we will regroup here. As of now, I have yet to create the teams, but I assure you that I shall have them ready by next week."

He paused and gave each of his teammates and meaningful look.

"You are dismissed." he said.

* * *

He watched each of his comrades file out and let out a sigh. He really hoped his plan would worked, otherwise he was sending them to be slaughtered in the heart of Grey Mann's army. If the plan failed, there was no chance for his men. He suddenly slammed his fist onto the table and stood up.

"Non, I will not let them die!" he shouted.

This was followed by a loud _"THUD!"_ as a startled BLU Pyro fell down from his hiding spot; a pile of Mann Co. Crates. Spy turned and stared at the distorted Pyro in bewilderment.

"Ummphh Oogh" the Pyro mumbled awkwardly.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**Pyro, what are you up to...**

**OK, let's get one thing straight, this is the first fanfiction I've ever made and the first story I've written in over a year. So ratings are always appreciated, let me know if there's anything I can do to improve this story in the upcoming chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Pyro," the Spy called cautiously "what are you still doing here? You were dismissed with the others."

He was all too familiar with Pyro's violent panic attacks and even more familiar with being burnt to a crisp by the horrid flamethrower Pyro had strapped on its back, only to respawn to feel the heat of the flame once more. Instinctively, he reached for the secret compartment in the inside of his coat that contained his balisong.

"Imgh Suorghy" the Pyro mumbled apologetically as it picked itself up from the mess of fallen crates.

Years of working against and alongside the masked pyromaniac has allowed the Spy to learn how to translate the Pyro's muffled dialect almost instantly.

"It's alright." the Spy replied, letting out a sigh of relief.

His hand fell from his knife's secret compartment as he relaxed.

"_Mon Dieu_, you gave me quite a fright!" he said to the Pyro; who was looking down at its feet in embarrassment.

"Igh Nheied tuo arsk yeu sermthoing." the Pyro said nervously.

The Spy was taken aback, never had he seen the fierce pyrotechnician so skittish.

"What is it, Pyro?" he asked gently, not wanting to provoke Pyro any more than he already had."

The Pyro looked up and shifted uncomfortably. After what seemed like ages, the Pyro finally responded.

"Nerthoing…" Pyro replied sadly as it made its way towards the door, mumbling to

"Pyro, wait!" Spy called as he began to follow after the masked mercenary.

Hearing its name being called, it looked back at the Spy sadly one last time, and dashed out the door. Leaving Spy to wonder; what was the Pyro going to say?

* * *

The Pyro ran into its room and locked the door behind it. Exhausted, the Pyro dropped its flamethrower next to a pile of other discarded weapons and collapsed on the bed. Pyro lay there for several minutes; staring at the ceiling before finally taking off its mask.

Throwing the mask into the corner of the room, Pyro sat on the corner of the bed and buried her face in her hands. Tears ran down her face; why didn't she tell him! She had the perfect opportunity, and he was one of the few people that didn't see her as a mindless, psychopathic freak. Even the RED Pyro did its best to keep its distance. Not that she could blame her, all her teammates saw was a masked monster whose only goal was to reduce everything in its path to a pile of ashes.

She got up from her bed and went to the washroom to wash her face. Even if nobody got to see her face, she still wanted to look decent.

She stumbled awkwardly into the small washroom that was provided in the room of each mercenary. Brushing her long red hair to the side, she turned on the tap and let the cold water rush past her fingers. She looked up at the mirror and was greeted by the familiar sight of sad, weary green eyes; the same eyes that were once filled with joy and wonder.

Tears began to flow down her cheek once more. She couldn't reveal her identity now; she couldn't look weak in front of anyone, especially not when they needed each other the most. She took a deep breath, she had to be strong she told herself; for the team.

* * *

"Hey Doc," the BLU Engineer called.

The RED Medic looked at the Engineer.

"How's the grub? It's a new recipe." the Engineer asked cheerfully.

"_Gut!"_ the Medic replied, shoving another spoonful of chili in his mouth while giving him a thumbs up.

The Engineer was without a doubt the best cook out all the mercenaries. Besides; the Medic knew better than to upset the man that handled his food.

* * *

It had been a week since the Spy had shared his plan with everyone. Since then, mercenaries have been stocking up on supplies for the upcoming mission. Even though it tore both of the Heavies and Scouts apart; they had sacrificed their entire stashes of fish cakes, sandviches, steaks, chocolate bars, mad milks and sodas.

If that wasn't enough; the BLU Demoman gave up his entire stash of brandy. Although nobody would dare admit in front of the Scotsman, they were all proud and taken-aback by his generous offer.

The Medics themselves have also been working on creating experimental pills, to "help keep their teammates alive when they couldn't".

Each mercenary would also be receiving their own "ÜberBrew", a small vial containing a glowing, purple liquid. When drunk, the user would receive the same effects of a standard Übercharge. The RED Medic warned everyone that they were for emergencies only, but of course; the BLU Scout chugged his down the second he received it.

Tonight they would be finding out who they would be partnered with and which factory they'd have the pleasure of blowing to bits.

* * *

The RED Demoman and the BLU Soldier were betting on who could destroy the most robots between the two of them when the RED Spy walked in holding a clipboard.

Nobody seemed to notice his sudden entrance until the BLU Spy pointed it out.

"Gentlemen," he called in order to get everyone's attention "I do believe we have a guest."

Everyone's attention shifted to the Frenchman standing in the open door frame of the mess hall. The RED Spy nodded his thanks to his BLU counterpart.

"I expect you have all been waiting for me to announce the teams?" he began.

He was answered by several nods and an excited, unprofessional cheer from one of the scouts.

"Well, I have chosen teams that I believe will work the best together and will…"

"Get on with it!" the RED Demoman shouted.

The Spy glared coldly at the drunken Scotsman, who was taking a swig from a bottle of brandy, and continued.

"Very well," he responded "escorting the payload cart to a factory just outside of Coaltown we have; the BLU Medic, RED Heavy and BLU Soldier."

He paused and glanced at each of his teammates carefully. He had expected some sort of reaction from them; whether it would be shouts of protest or cheers he didn't know, but what he didn't expect was silence. The mercenaries stared up at him, waiting for him to continue. Snapping out of his daze, he clumsily regained his posture of authority.

"The RED Scout and Demo, along with the BLU Spy, will escort a cart to factory on the outskirts of Mannworks."

He looked up one last time, still expecting some sort of reply. Everyone remained silent, even the Scouts were paying attention! If he didn't know any better, he would've gone up and poked one of them; just to see if either of them were one of Grey Mann's spies.

"Heading to the factory near Bigrock will be the BLU Sniper, the BLU Engineer and the RED Pyro."

By now, the Spy had grown accustomed to the silence that followed each list and continued without a moment's hesitation.

"Escorting the bomb to the factory in the former Dustbowl will be the RED Soldier, the RED Medic and the BLU Heavy." The RED Sniper and Engineer along with the BLU Demoman will be heading towards DeGroot Keep, which has been recently converted into a factory. Finally, the BLU Scout and Pyro along with myself will be heading to Kong King."

The Spy closed the folder and placed it on the table for the others to read. He watched his teammates flip through the pages of the folder for several minutes, just in case they had any questions. Finally, he turned and walked towards the doors of the mess hall, pausing just in front of the open door frame.

"We are leaving tomorrow morning… everyone get some sleep tonight." he said over his shoulder.

With that, he left the mess hall to retire to his room for the night.

* * *

**Authors Notes:**

**This chapter drags on for a bit; but I had to get a couple of scenes out of the way as soon as possible. There WILL be an action scene in the upcoming chapter which will hopefully be coming out the same day as this one. Recently I have came upon some problems when trying to upload a story**


	3. Chapter 3

As usual, the RED Soldier was the last one to leave the training grounds. He stifled a yawn as he adjusted the shotgun strapped across his back. He was forced to leave his rocket launcher in the resupply room. After blowing up a portion of Teufort in a "friendly" competition with the BLU Heavy; his colleagues had "subtly" suggested that he should leave any "highly destructive" weapons in the resupply room outside of missions. Why didn't they trust him! They were all Americans after all…

The Soldier was deep in thought when he bumped into the BLU Spy.

"Sorry." he said gruffly, not even bothering to turn to face the Spy.

He continued walking for a few steps when suddenly a thought struck him; did the Spy just flicker?

He turned quickly to see the BLU Spy running as fast as it could down the hall. Instinct took over as the Soldier charged after him, screaming a fierce war cry.

After hearing the Soldier's battle cry, the RED Scout dragged himself out of bed and stumbled into the hallway wondering what the crazed patriot was doing at this hour.

The second the Scout stepped out into the hallway, he was nearly knocked over by the crazed war veteran himself. Not only was he screaming absolute nonsense at the top of his lungs, but he was also wielding a shotgun!

"Hey! What the h-" the Scout began as the Soldier ran past him.

"That Spy is not one of us!" the Soldier interrupted as pointed at the figure hurriedly making his way down the hall.

Realization dawned on the Scouts face as he hastily drew his pistol and jogged after the Soldier.

The "Spy" took a quick glance behind and cursed when he saw the two mercenaries chasing after him. Realizing that his disguise now was pointless, he drew his revolver and fired a hasty shot at the two men chasing him. After the first shot, his disguise faded away; revealing his true form.

Now standing in front of them was one of Grey Mann's many robots; a perfect robotic replica of their very own spies.

"I knew it…" the Soldier said as he approached the Spy-bot carefully.

He had his shotgun aimed at the Spy-bot's chest and out of the corner of his eye; he could see that the Scout had taken a similar position with his pistol.

They Spy-bot backed up until it felt its back hit the wall, there it raised its revolver and fired three shots at the man he thought out to be the greater threat; the Soldier.

The Soldier charged forward as the first bullet flew aimlessly over his head and knocked out one of the lights. As soon as he heard the Scout shout out in fear as the second shot hit the wall near him, the Soldier fired a shot of his own at the Spy-Bot; but it seemed to do little to harm it. The final shot harmlessly struck the floor right in front of the Soldier.

After closing off the gap between the two of them; he attempted a whack at the robot with the barrel of his shotgun, but the Spy-bot was much faster than he expected and he ended up stumbling awkwardly into the wall as it sidestepped out of the way.

The Soldiers eyes rolled up into his head as his body went limp. There was a loud "_Thud!" _as the dead-weight of the Soldier's unconscious body fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

The Scout, not wanting to injure the unconscious Soldier by mistake, threw his pistol aside and ran forward with his bat instead. He jumped the last few feet between himself and the Spy-bot and swung wildly.

Out of the corner of its artificial eye; the Spy-bot could just make out the Scout taking the deadly leap. He intercepted the deadly swing with a thrust with its arm, which was now wielding an open butterfly knife.

There was now a deadlock between the Scout and the Spy-bot as they each tried to overpower each other and deliver a killing blow. The Spy-bot allowed a cruel smile to show as it realized that the Scout wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. The robot push with renewed strength, determined to destroy the foolish boy that tried to kill it. The aluminum bat was beginning to dent under the pressure of the robotic spy's weight.

Just before the Scout's strength gave away, the sound of a shotgun being fired rang off the walls of the corridor. The Spy-bot fell to the floor as the shotgun blast struck its back at full force. It struggled to pick itself up, but the Soldier kicked it back down and fired a shot at its left shoulder. The blast of the shotgun was strong enough to send the Spy-bots left arm flying, still wielding the open balisong.

"Any last words? _MAGGOT!" _the Soldier asked triumphantly as he knelt down in front of the disarmed robot..

The Spy-bot watched as the Scout joined his partner, massaging his shoulder which still ached from their previous encounter.

"One…" the Spy-bot began.

Its voice was almost identical to the one of their own Spies, which caught the two mercenaries off guard. So far every robot they have encountered sounded like, well a robot.

The Spy-bot knew it only had one bullet left loaded in its revolver, but that was all it needed.

"I'll see you in hell!" it spat.

In a single, rapid motion it drew its revolver from inside his coat and fired at the Soldier. The Soldier let out a scream of pain and surprise as his hands clutched his chest. There was a dull thud as the Soldier fell to the ground, a small pool of blood already forming around him

Instinct took over once more as the Scout heard his friend cry out in pain; he brought the bat over his head and brought it down with as much strength he could gather. The force of the bat shattered the Spy-bots head; killing it instantly.

Once the sneaky bastard was out of the way, he turned to face his wounded colleague. He couldn't stop the tears from welling up in his eyes once he realized that he had no idea what to do to help his dying friend; but he knew who would. He forced himself to separate himself from his dying friend and stood up shakily.

"MEDIC!"


	4. Chapter 4

Grey Mann could hear the steady rhythm of metal feet beating loudly against the floor from his office. By now, he had become more or less accustomed to the sound of robots patrolling the hallways of the giant factory. He was usually able to tell when a robot wasn't merely passing by just by listening for any sets of footsteps that were out of place. Therefore he could easily tell the dull thumping of heavy metal footsteps was meant for him.

Grey Mann got up from his desk, which was facing a towering wall of monitors that surveyed every section of the factory. He stared at the wall of monitors for several minutes, unable to focus on one screen for more than several seconds. The screens captured everything that happened on the island base; every carrier that came and left every crate those foolish robots dropped and most importantly; anyone that tried to enter without him knowing. He allowed a smile to creep on to his face as he surveyed his island empire. The once prosperous city of Kong King was all his.

The door flung open, startling Grey Mann; who had been deep in thought. He turned to see a heavy-bot standing in the open door frame. He let out a sigh of frustration as he saw the force of the door being flung open had left a huge crack in the wall.

"Next time just…" he began, anger rising in his voice.

Forcing himself to calm down he returned his gaze to the heavy-bot.

"Never mind. What do you want?" he asked sternly.

It took the heavy-bot several minutes to respond, as if it were still processing Grey Mann's question. Grey Mann sighed, why had he created such unintelligent soldiers?

"It has returned…" the heavy-bot finally responded.

Grey Mann's eyebrows raised in mild surprise. He thought the robot had been killed while trying to infiltrate the mercenaries' base.

"Bring it in," Grey Mann said "and this time, use the door _properly_."

He was about to turn back to the wall of monitors, until there was a reply from the other end of the room.

"No need…" a French-accented voice replied.

Grey Mann watched in surprise as the heavy-bot faded away slowly to reveal a spy-bot. Although it closely resembled any spy-bot that could be assembled in a machine within minutes, it was so much more. It was stronger, smarter and much more durable than anything else he has ever created. Even better; it was the first of many to come.

"Aren't you full of surprises today?" Grey Mann said to the spy-bot. "I thought you were killed when you didn't return from your mission in Teufort yesterday."

The spy-bot chuckled and tossed him a golden pocket watch with a humming bird engraved on the top.

"I had a "run-in" with two of the mercenaries, the war veteran and the Bostonian."

Grey Mann remained silent as he examined the dead ringer the spy-bot had given him. He knew how it worked, but he had yet to make any himself. Without asking, he already knew the spy-bot had stolen the pocket watch from one of the original Spies.

"The Soldier is dead…" the spy-bot continued.

"The RED one or the BLU one?" Grey Mann interrupted.

"The RED one, I would've taken the boy too; but I only had one bullet remaining."

"No matter." Grey Mann said as walked to his desk and picked up a folder.

He flipped through the pages of the folder until he found a picture of the RED Soldier held to a piece of paper containing "valuable" information by a paperclip. Picking up a bright red pen, he crossed out a giant X on the picture of the deceased patriot.

"You've done me proud." Grey Mann said as he placed the folder back on his desk. "You are dismissed"

The spy-bot replied with a nod and picked up the dead ringer up from Grey Mann's desk before disappearing into thin air.

Grey Mann watched the spot where the spy-bot had been standing for several minutes. Finally, after deciding that the spy-bot had left, he walked back to his wall of monitors to observe his ever-growing empire.

* * *

The BLU Scout paced nervously around the hallway outside the RED Medic's office. Hours have passed since the Scout had last seen the lifeless body of the RED Soldier being carried away into the medical room. The sounds of a stuttering heal beam, various medical instruments falling to the ground and the Medic uttering frustrated curses in German didn't exactly help reassure him.

Finally, he couldn't stand waiting around anymore; he walked towards the door, but right before he could burst into the medical room, a hand gently grabbed his shoulder. The Scout looked over his shoulder and ended up face to face with the RED Spy. By now, he was more or less used to the Frenchman sneaking up on him unnoticed.

"I would not do that…" the Spy began.

"Why not?!" The Scout interrupted. "It's my fault he's even in there…" he said hanging his head miserably.

"Non," the Spy said gently "you did everything you possibly could; the Soldier would be proud." seeing the hesitation on Scout's face, he pressed on. "Besides, the Medic knows what he is doing, and you wouldn't want to distract him; would you?"

The thought of anything else happening to his comrade seemed to be enough to convince the Scout.

"Alright…" he said hesitantly as he sat down in one of the chairs that were lined up against the wall.

He picked up a sports magazine and began flipping through the pages unenthusiastically. The Spy sighed as he realized how much the Scout felt responsible for the incident. Truth be told he wasn't to be blamed; no one was. The Scout just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Just then, the Medic walked out of his medical room. His gloves were caked with blood from the Soldier's surgery. Upon seeing the Medic, the Scout quickly got up and walked towards him.

"How's he doing Doc?" the Scout asked nervously.

"He vhill be fine," the Medic reassured him "he just needz to get some rest."

"So do you doctor, you've been tending to Soldier all night; you deserve some sleep." the Spy said once he saw the dark circles that had appeared under the doctors eyes.

The Medic merely chuckled as he waved the offer of sleep aside. He pulled off his left glove and shoved it in his pocket; he then proceeded to do the same thing with his right glove.

"Ah… you know me Spy, I don't vhest until the job iz done." the Medic said as he collapsed into a nearby chair.

"Phew, I was starting to think the shot hit something important." the Scout said, the relief blatantly obvious in his voice.

Although the Spy couldn't help but grin at the Scout's excitement, the Medic's face remained straight

"Actually, the shot should've killed him." the Medic began solemnly. "The bullet pierced several significant organz, how he could've survived is beyond mhe."

There was a moment of silence between the three as the Spy and Scout thought about what the doctor had just said.

"But he's going to be alright, right doc?" the Scout asked.

"I assure you; he vhill recover before vhe have to depart for zhe mission; vhell az long az Soldier iz capable of recovering at zhe same rate." the Medic said.

"Are you sure it is safe for Soldier to be out on a mission so soon after his recovery?" the Spy asked wearily.

The Medic let out a hearty, slightly-crazed laugh.

"Oh don't vhorry," the Medic said cheerily with a crazed look in his eye "a little carnage iz just vhat he needz."

"Very well," the Spy said stifling a yawn "I will see you gentlemen in the morning. _Bonne nuit._"

"Yeah, you said it pal. G'night!" the Scout replied cheerily before jogging back to his room.

After wishing each other a goodnight, the Spy and the Medic retired to their own rooms.

* * *

The eighteen mercenaries met at Gravel Pit early the next morning. There, six sets of railway tracks were already laid out; each one leading off towards one of the six major factories they were assigned to. The payload carts were already loaded with explosives and were ready to be escorted to their respective factory. Attached to the back of each of the payload carts was a wagon that would carry their supplies throughout the journey.

The mercenaries had gathered in their groups and were sitting on crates full of ammunition, food and hats that had yet to be loaded onto the back of the payload cart. In front of them, the RED Spy was delivering a final speech before the mercenaries would have to go their separate ways.

"Gentlemen," the Spy began "after months of defending Mann Co. from the robots, the time has finally come to strike."

This was greeted by a cacophony of various cheers and war cries from the other mercenaries.

"You all know our objective," the Spy continued "we escort the bombs to the enemy factories and finish off any who remain. The journey is dangerous, and without the respawn machines on our side, there is no guarantee that we will all make it out alive."

Seeing the hesitation on their faces, he continued.

"However, I have fought against and alongside each and every one of you and I know one thing for sure. If Grey Mann thinks he's got us on our knees, he has another thing coming."

He was once again met by the cheers of his comrades. He was glad to see that the RED Soldier, the BLU Scout and the RED Medic were the first ones to start cheering and the last ones to settle down.

Once everyone was done with the farewells; they set off. The Spy watched each group push their carts into the distance until they were out of sight.

"Godspeed" he whispered to himself before turning to his group members.

The Spy nodded at his group members; the BLU Scout and Pyro, and they set off.

* * *

**Authors Notes: **

**From now on, the stories may not be able to go up as frequently. However I will still try to upload at least one a week. Tell me which journey you want me to follow first out of the six groups escorting the payload carts.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Now doctor!" the RED Heavy shouted at the top of his lungs as he ducked behind the payload cart.

The Heavy could briefly hear the BLU Medic shout something in German, but he could barely make out the words as a series of loud _crackles!_ and _pops!_ filled the air. Newfound power surged through his veins as he let out a might berserker roar. He leapt out from the cover of the bullet-riddled bomb-cart, spinning his minigun up, and began to fire at the incoming hordes of robots. Bullets and rockets bounced harmlessly off of the Heavy as he began to make his way deeper into the swarm of his robots, his minigun razing down any robot that got in his way.

"I am bulletproof!" the Heavy roared as he charged into a crowd of several robots; knocking them over like bowling pins.

Finally, the Übercharge fizzled out, but the job had been done. Surrounding the Medic and the Heavy were heaps of twisted metal; all that remained of the robots. The surviving robots had regrouped and were preparing for a second wave. The Heavy revved up his minigun again; but this time, he was greeted an empty clip. Gritting his teeth in frustration; he dropped his minigun to the side and readied his shotgun.

"Ready doctor?!" he called over his shoulder.

"Ja, let's move." the Medic called back eagerly as he pulled out his needle gun.

They moved towards the group of robots that had gathered themselves on the track cautiously. The pair was just about to engage in combat when they were shoved aside by a pale blue blur. While the Heavy had simply been shoved aside, the Medic had been knocked over by the force of the BLU Soldier charging through the duo screaming a fierce war cry.

The patriot fired three rockets in rapid succession at the crowed of robots. The Soldier used the final rocket he had loaded in his clip to propel himself at the remaining robots. He turned mid-jump to see the Heavy and the Medic back to back fighting off a ragtag group of spy-bots and sniper-bots.

"Give 'em hell boys!" he shouted as he flew above his teammates, kicking a sniper-bot in the head before firing a second rocket at the ground.

The explosion sent him flying once more, along with taking out a spy-bot that had taken the brief opportunity to sneak up on him. In midair he let go of his rocket launcher, letting it fall onto a scout-bot; which was crushed under the weight of the falling weapon. As he began to lose altitude, the Soldier drew his rusty shovel its sheath; clutching it tightly as he began to plummet towards the robots.

As he neared the battle-scarred terrain, he swung his shovel wildly, bringing it down onto an unsuspecting demo-bot. Out of the corner of his eye; he could make out a scout-bot running towards him wielding an aluminum bat. He sidestepped at the last the second to let the scout-bot stumble past him awkwardly before burying his shovel into an unprotected section of his back.

* * *

While the Heavy was kicking up dust wrestling with one of his robotic replica, the Medic ran from cover to cover; riddling any robot he saw with needles. The Medic crouched behind a pile of twisted metal that was once a robot to avoid being caught in the radius of an incoming demo-bot's sticky bombs.

"Zhat vhas to close." he muttered to himself.

Breathing heavily, he began to reload his needle gun when he heard they faint sound of a spy-bot uncloaking. In one movement he shouldered the surprised spy-bot aside, withdrew his bone saw and sliced its head off. The spy-bot's butterfly knife fell harmlessly to the ground as the now headless robot collapsed and began to spasm.

"That vhas doctor assisted homicide." the Medic said as he kicked the lifeless spy-bot aside, grinning manically.

* * *

The Heavy was joyfully beating a helpless soldier-bot's face in when the Medic tapped him on the shoulder.

"Move ze gear up." the Medic said, pointing at a giant heavy-bot that was in the process of trying to swat a rocket-jumping Soldier out of the air. "Schnell!"

The Heavy slung the shotgun over his shoulder as he jogged alongside the Medic towards the sole remaining robot. He heard a faint _hum _followed by a surge of energy. The Heavy looked in awe as the cuts and bruises that covered his arms began to heal over. No matter how many times he experienced it, the Medic's mediguns would never fail to amaze him.

As they neared the gigantic heavy-bot, they could hear the Soldier shouting insults as he weaved through his legs while firing his shotgun; causing the heavy-bot to stumble around as it attempted to stomp out the annoying war veteran.

The Heavy pulled out his shotgun and began to fire at his enormous robotic replica. The heavy-bot turned towards the two newcomers and advanced towards them, crushing the remains of robots and dead plants as it began its steady march.

Now that the heavy-bot had turned towards them, the Heavy could see that the robot was sporting a pair of comically oversized boxing gloves along with some boxing head gear. Now the Heavy wasn't sure whether he should run in fear from the monster that was trampling towards him, or to laugh at how ridiculous it looked.

Instead; the Heavy pumped his shotgun, screamed a mighty war cry and charged at his robotic replica. He barreled into the heavy-bot with all his strength. Despite the Heavy's efforts; the robot didn't budge. There was a loud_ clang!_ as the Soldier struck the heavy-bot in the back with butt of his shotgun; leaving a solid dent.

The towering heavy-bot seemed to have finally had enough. It struck the Heavy in the chest; sending him flying with a force that was great enough to crack some of his ribs. The deadweight of the Heavy flying backwards smacked the Medic with full force.

"Dummkopf!" the Medic's shouts were muffled by the unconscious form of the Heavy that lay sprawled out on top of him.

The Soldier let out a nasty snarl as he leapt on to the back of the heavy-bot and began pounding against it. The heavy-bot thrashed wildly as he tried to knock the Soldier off, but the patriot had a strong grip around the robot's neck. The Soldier screamed wildly as he began tearing wires and thin sheets of metal from the unprotected back of the heavy-bots neck.

But before the war veteran could do any real damage, the heavy-bot scored a lucky elbow into the Soldier's chest. As he fell to the ground, his shotgun clattered away. He tried to grab it, but the heavy-boy stepped in front of him. The heavy-bot kicked him and sent him flying into the remains of several scout-bots. The robot walked up to him and stared at the defenceless war veteran in what was probably disgust. Finally, it picked him up by the collar and pulled his fist back.

The Soldier however simply laughed as the heavy-bot prepared to deliver the killing blow.

"Pathetic," the Soldier began "you didn't even bother to check on the others before beating me up. If you're going to kill me; AT LEAST DO IT RIGHT!" he shouted.

The heavy-bot didn't even stop to think about what the Soldier said as it sent its fist sailed towards the patriot. When his fist was mere inches away from caving the Soldier's skull in, he was tackled to the ground by an Übered Heavy.

The heavy-bot's gloves began to tear as its punches hammered uselessly off of the invulnerable Russian man. In a berserker rage; the Heavy began slamming his fists into the armored metal of the heavy-bot's chest, each punch leaving a deeper dent in the armor. As his Übercharge began to fizzle out, the Heavy used the last of his strength to tear off one of the robots arms.

He panted heavily as the Übercharge died out and dropped the dismembered arm on the ground in front of the fallen heavy-bot. He allowed a smile to creep onto his face as he pointed his shotgun at the exposed wiring of the robot.

"You are dead, not big surprise." he said triumphantly before firing into the robots chest; killing it instantly.

"_Kaboom_!" the Soldier shouted, echoing the sound of the shotgun blast. "Fine job Private Heavy!"

"Ja!" the Medic agreed "You did well!" he said as he patted the Heavy on the back.

Once the trio was done with compliments, they went to work clearing the track of robot debris, restocking on weapons and gathering what they needed from the fallen robots. The Heavy even picked up the ill fitting boxing head gear from his fallen adversary along with the remains of the torn up boxing gloves.

Once they had geared up, they continued on towards the factory.

* * *

**Authors Notes:**

**Sorry for the delay on this chapter compared to the delay between the other ones. As I mentioned earlier, I will try to maintain a schedule of posting at least once per week. Also, don't forget to comment which team you want the story to follow next, along with any other suggestion.**


	6. Chapter 6

The sniper-bot weaved its way past the clumps of pine trees, desperate to escape its pursuer. The sniper-bot ignored the numbing pain of low-lying branches smacking against it as it trampled through the undergrowth. It could hear the dull rhythm of heavy boots beating against the ground getting closer and closer. The sniper-bot hastened his pace as he realized his pursuer had given up a stealthy approach and was going in for the kill.

The sniper-bot burst into a small clearing and drew its final arrow from its quiver. Turning towards the source of the footsteps, it raised its huntsman and nocked the arrow against the drawstring. The robot waited didn't hesitate as it pulled the arrow back with its thumb and forefinger, aimed at the undergrowth where its hunter was sure to emerge and fired.

_Whack!_

The sniper-bot's arrow was already on its way when the BLU Demoman charged into the clearing with a battered shield, his trusty chargin' targe, raised in front of him. There was a satisfying _Thwack!_ as the arrow harmlessly struck the rim of the shield. The Demoman flung his shield at the robot, forcing the sniper-bot to drop its huntsman and dive out of the path of the deadly projectile. There shield flew mere inches over the sniper-bots head and lodged itself into the trunk of a towering pine tree, much to the distaste of the Demoman.

"Aw cripe!" the Demoman shouted slapping his hand to his forehead "It'll take me bloody ages to get the chips out of meh shield!"

The Scotsman turned and glared angrily at the sniper-bot, who was desperately trying to crawl away while the Demoman was distracted.

"I'm going to turn ya into thin glue!" the Demoman muttered angrily.

The Scotsman unsheathed his eyelander and held it in front of him with both hands gripping the hilt; ready for instant use. After allowing the sniper-bot to pick itself up, the Demoman jogged towards it with the tip of his eyelander pointed at the robot's chest.

In response, the sniper-bot drew its kukri and swung wildly at the incoming figure with an overhead slash. The Demoman allowed a cruel, wolflike grin to creep on his face as he parried the first strike easily. The Demoman parried the robot's next two strokes with similar ease. Then, as the sniper-bot attempted a swift stab to his chest, the Demoman flicked the kukri aside.

The kukri fell to the ground and clattered away, leaving the sniper-bot defenceless. Raising its fists up in a pitiful attempt to defend itself, the disarmed robot carefully circled around its opponent.

The Demoman rolled his eyes in annoyance as he launched himself at the disarmed sniper-bot. He raised the eyelander past his head, ready to deliver an overhead slash. In an attempt to protect itself, the robot jabbed blindly with its right fist. The Demoman slashed at the helpless figure, slicing its right arm off. The Scotsman continued the merciless onslaught; slashing wildly, his blade cutting through the robots metal skin easily.

Finally, the Demoman withdrew from the slaughter; holding his eyelander at his side as he watched the crippled robot spasm on the ground. He raised the sword, with its tip faced downwards and stabbed the robot in the chest. The lifeless corpse of the sniper-bot crumpled into a heap on the ground before him.

"That'll teach ya!" the Demoman said cheerfully "Better think twice before taking _my_ cart!"

Although the Demoman was unaware; he wasn't alone. A second sniper-bot sat nested in the tree tops of the towering pine trees with an arrow already nocked on the drawstring of its huntsman. Now that the Demoman was busy jeering at its dead comrade, it had the perfectly opportunity to end the fools life. It pulled the drawstring back and took aim at the Scotsman's chest.

The RED Sniper emerged from his hiding spot, a small nest hidden away in a clump of low-lying saplings and shrubs. Quickly, he took stock of the situation. Although the Sniper couldn't clearly see his target, the faint glare of the sunlight reflecting off of the robot's metal exterior gave him something to shoot at.

Within seconds of emerging from his outpost, the Sniper raised his bow with an arrow already nocked on the bowstring. He never slung his huntsman over his shoulder; he always carried the recurve bow around so that it was ready for instant use. Always.

The Sniper's first arrow was on his way almost immediately. There was a satisfying_ Thwack! _as the arrow struck the sniper-bot in the shoulder. The sniper-bot bent forward as the force of the arrow struck him full force, letting its bow uselessly falling to the ground far below him. The robot struggled awkwardly as it tried to pull the arrow out from its shoulder. Just as its fingers gripped around the shaft of the massive arrow, a second projectile struck its thigh. It staggered around awkwardly before falling to its death.

The sound of arrows being fired and the sound of leaves rustling as a robot stumbled around in the tree tops caught the attention of the BLU Demoman. He looked up just in time to make out the shape of a falling sniper-bot. Instinct took over as he stepped out of the way just before the deadweight of the dead robot crashed into the ground in front of him.

Recognizing the two arrows that stuck out from the dead sniper-bot that lay at his feet, the Demoman glanced around until he spotted the RED Sniper crouched in his nest. He sheathed his eyelander and walked towards him.

"Thanks lad!" the Demoman called cheerfully.

The Sniper simply grinned and tipped the brim of his hat before replying.

"It was nothing mate," the Australian began as he looked up at the setting sun "we 'outta get going, mate. The Truckie's probably waiting for us back at camp."

The Demoman nodded. After several days of working closely with the sharpshooter and the Engineer, he had become accustomed to the nicknames they had given each other.

"Best not keep 'em waiting than!" the Demoman replied cheerily as he jogged towards the tree his shield had lodged itself in.

The Sniper strolled after the Demoman, rolling his eyes in mild amusement. How the Scotsman kept himself alive on the frontlines of battle after all these years, he would never understand.

* * *

The moon emitted a serene, luminous glow as it hung lazily in the night sky. The RED Engineer wasn't one to overlook such beauty. Personally, he had always preferred spending time outdoors as a kid growing up in Bee Cave, Texas. There was so much true unspoken beauty in the world that few people ever got to experience.

The Engineer sighed. If anyone had asked him to describe what his life had been like the past few years, he doubted that he could've given them a proper answer. His life had been little more than a blur. Ever since Redmond Mann had recruited him to become one of his nine mercenaries to fight an endless war to seize his brother's (Blutarch Mann) land, he had little time to sit back, relax and enjoy the world around him like he used to.

He was deep in thought when a sudden thought struck him. Where was Slim with the Scotsman? He turned and stared at the entrance of the forest the two of them had disappeared into. After the last wave of robots had tried to steal the bomb cart from them, two sniper-bots had scarcely avoided death at the hands of the mercenaries and had escaped into the woods. The Demoman and The Sniper were determined to not let them get away.

"They'll be back any minute now." The Engineer told himself as he propped himself onto a pile of crates.

The Engineer took this time to check up on his buildings. As he walked over to his buildings nest, the Texan was greeted by a small beep of a level two sentry. Noticing the awkward twist in the back leg of the sentry's tripod, the Engineer reached into the dispenser's ammo compartment and grabbed several scrap pieces of metal.

He stopped to wonder if he should take more metal to fully upgrade his sentry but disregarded the idea. He had never seen any of the robots in the area wielding anything more advanced than a crossbow. There was no point of wasting his precious metal reserves.

He fished through the dispenser until the deafening wail of the sentry filled the air. A horrible realization dawned on him as he could hear the faint, electric hiss that echoed the frantic beeps of the sentry. He turned and ran, dropping the pieces of metal he had been carrying as he pulled out his wrench. It would only take a single whack with his wrench to free his sentry of the sapper's draining clutch.

As he approached the sentry, he brought his wrench onto the sapper; but it was too late. The sentry exploded in front of him, forcing him to shield his face from the twisted bits of metal that flew at him. Once the debris had cleared, the Texan glared angrily at the spot his sentry once stood, as if he could make his attacker reveal itself by sheer will.

The Texan let his wrench fall as he wearily drew his pistol.

"You're a loooooong way from France boy," he began. When he wasn't met by a reply he continued. "I know you're here boy, get out here you sneaky bastard."

He could just make out the shimmering form of a spy-bot uncloaking behind him. The Texan turned quickly and fired his pistol until his clip ran out. Several bullets glanced harmlessly off of the robot's exterior as the spy-bot raised it's revolver and fired a single shot into the Engineer's shoulder. The Texan fell forward, barely able to stick his arm out in time to stop himself from crashing to the ground. He was about to reach for his pistol, which had clattered away, when he felt the barrel of a revolver against the back of his head.

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for what was about to happen. The spy-bot grinned as he took one last look at the man behind the machines that had slaughtered countless numbers of its comrade. Now that he was at the other end of the gun he didn't look all too powerful. The robot laughed cruelly as nocked the revolver.

"Unfortunately for you, the outcome was never really in doubt." the spy-bot muttered before pulling the trigger.

Just as the loud crack of gunfire split the air and the Engineer hit the ground, two men burst out of the forest. The spy-bot turned towards the two stunned mercenaries, grinning manically.

"Oh dear, I've made quite a mess." it said mockingly as it kicked the lifeless body of the Engineer to the side.

The spy-bot ran away laughing to himself as he avoided huntsman arrows and a shield thrown by the Demoman before vanishing into thin air once more.

An unspoken agreement passed through the two mercenaries as the Demoman chased after the robot, the Sniper knelt down in front of his friend; desperately hoping that he hasn't passed on.

* * *

**Authors Notes:**

Cliff Hanger!

Sorry about the delay, I've been planning ahead for the next few chapters and for an appearance of a very special character...

I've also been thinking of starting a new series. More information later, maybe even a teaser in the next author's notes! You know that's why it's important to read this!


	7. Chapter 7

The BLU Spy slumped down against the side of the payload coat, a deep scowl of frustration on his face. He threw a small walkie-talkie aside. His counterpart, the RED Spy had them built by the engineers so all the mercenaries could keep in touch while they were on their separate missions. Although the RED Spy stressed the importance of how the team should keep in touch, the only calls that had been broadcasted on their channel these past few weeks had been from the BLU Scout bragging about his "amazing" feats. However, this particular morning the channel was buzzing with activity.

The RED Sniper and the BLU Demoman had sent out an emergency broadcast concerning the near-death experience of the RED Engineer. According to the reports of the BLU Demoman; before escaping into the forest, the Texan's assaulter (one of Grey Mann's spy-bots), had disabled a good chunk of the Engineer's buildings in a shootout with their creator. If the Texan hadn't been near his dispenser when he received the fatal wound, the shot would've killed him for sure.

Even now, several hours after the broadcast, the mercenaries were still busy discussing the incident.

"We should send Medic!" the RED Heavy cried, his booming voice drowning out everyone else. "Engineer will need someone to tend to his wounds."

It isn't that easy." the RED Spy replied. His voice was strained with frustration, not directed at anyone in particular "The Medics are needed by their teams, especially with spy-bots like the ones we've already encountered on the loose. Besides, the nearest Medic is several days away."

There was a murmur of agreement with what the RED Spy had just said, but nobody seemed all-too be happy about

"Zhere may be a solution!" the Medic exclaimed suddenly "Sniper, doez zhe Engineer still have zhe ÜberBrew I diztributed?"

Realization dawned on the BLU Spy as he picked up the walkie-talkie he had tossed aside to follow the conversation with new interest.

"Probably mate…" the RED Sniper began "…he's probably stashed it away into the dispenser. I'll check on it."

There was an awkward silence as the Sniper left to check on the dispenser. After what felt like ages, there was a loud _bzzt!_ as he returned and picked up his radio.

"I've got it!" the bushman cried victoriously "Do I just inject it into him?"

"NEIN!" the Medic shouted frantically "If he iz to take in such a powerful substance in such a large quantity, it vould surely kill him!"

"So what use is this bloody thing?" the Sniper growled at no one in particular.

"It iz not entirely useless. You vhill just have to follow my instructions carefully." the Medic said.

* * *

After listening to the Medic carefully list the instructions in full detail, the Sniper went to work. He hurried to his medical kit. He rummaged inside it and produced half a dozen small empty containers and a bag of powder. He hastily opened the vial containing the ÜberBrew a carefully poured it evenly into the six containers. He hurriedly mixed the bag of powder in with each container and within five minutes, each container was glowing fiercely. The Sniper could've even sworn that they shook a little.

But finally, the fierce glows dimmed and the vibrating stopped. The bushman didn't even stop to hesitate. He scooped up the containers and rushed towards his wounded comrade, who was lying lifelessly next to his dispenser. As he approached, he could hear the faint hum of the dispenser along with a feeble greeting from the Engineer. The Sniper knelt down in front of the Texan and handed him one of the small vials.

"No time to explain mate, just drink it." the Sniper said reassuringly.

"Alrighty then…" the Engineer said, clearly confused.

After allowing the Sniper to press the container against his lips, the Texan took a sip of the substance. If it weren't for the level of trust the two of them had established, the Engineer would've probably used his remaining strength to smack the vial aside.

Once the Texan had drained the first small container, the Sniper could see that the Engineer was already looking much better. The process continued until all six vials lay empty on the ground. The Texan looked at his arms and to his mild surprise, they were glowing faintly.

"Wh-what's happening Slim?!" the Engineer exclaimed as he struggled to get up.

The RED Sniper couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. At least the Texan was acting like his old, impatient self. He gently pressed his hand on the Texan's shoulder to stop him from getting up.

"You've just drunken several minor doses of ÜberBrew," the Sniper began "the doc says you should rest to let it get through your system."

Just as the Engineer opened his mouth to question the Sniper further, the BLU Demoman charged out of the forest of towering pine trees shouting complete, utter nonsense. The Sniper rolled his eyes as he turned to confront the shouting Scotsman and was met by a sight that made his stomach feel queasy. On the tip of the Demoman's eyelander was the head of a distorted, nearly unrecognizable scout-bot. The Sniper didn't know what to say as he stood there, staring at the disfigured robot who looked so much like one of the mercenaries own scouts. Finally the Demoman bellowed a hearty laugh.

"What do ya think?" the Demoman asked cheerfully "Too much? It took me bloody ages to catch up to it!"

The Sniper rolled his eyes as the Demoman began teasing the dead robot and returned to tend to his injured comrade.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Sorry for the long wait for the short chapter, I have been experiencing some technical issues with my laptop. I promise the next chapter will be much longer than usual. One might even say I'm turning up the heat (hint)


	8. Chapter 8

The mercenary stood back into the open streets, watching the town around her as it was engulfed from all sides. There was nothing but destruction all around her. The roofs were on fire and the windows were crackling under the sheer heat of the flames leaving ear shattering _Clacks!_ Even the buildings were crumbling; unable to take the pressure of the blistering heat. The mercenary giggled excitedly, it was as if a giant fire-breathing dragon was flying through the town, puffing away vicariously.

The flames burned deep red and amber, almost livid purple as the pyrotechnician saw various mercenaries desperately trying to put out the fire. Others were running for their lives and other lay in crumpled, ashen heaps. Nothing inside the town was likely to survive the fire, she thought as she saw some flames licking up in the air with the wind, trying to catch something else on fire. After finding nothing but air the sparks disappearing into the windy night, like disappointed flutters.

The mercenary lifted her flamethrower high above her head and began shouting muffled war cries before she caught a glimpse of a dull blue blur out of the corner of her eye. Quickly, she lowered her flamethrower and chased after the unknown BLU mercenary. She was determined to not let her prey get away.

She trampled through the burnt rubble that covered the streets until she cornered her prey. A terrified BLU Scout stood petrified as he realized his pursuer had found him. He shuffled backwards until his back bumped into a wall. Under her mask, she allowed a wolflike grin to creep onto her face as she saw how helpless the Bostonian was.

"You can't do this!" the boy begged. "I'm on your side!"

But the BLU Pyro didn't acknowledge the boy's pleas. Instead of hearing the Scout's cowardly and desperate cries of mercy; all the pyrotechnician could hear was the Scout fiercely shouting at her. All she could hear was him spewing a string of vicious insults at him. Deep down, she knew something was wrong. She could faintly hear what the Scout was really saying, but his pleas were reduced to mere echoes as they were clouded out by the biting "voiceovers" she had subconsciously given him.

"Nobody would miss ya!" he shouted viciously. "Just face it, ya mute, frickin' moron! Why don't ya take off the suit and burn yourself, give yourself a taste of your own god damn medicine ya freak!"

She bit back tears; she was sick and tired of how her own teammates treated her, especially the Bostonian. She rushed forward, releasing short puffs with her flamethrower, taunting him as she began the steady approach.

Just before she got close enough to set her tormenter ablaze, she felt a sudden stab of pain in her back. She fell forwards, her vision already blurring as she collapsed onto the street. The last thing she saw through the bloodstained lens of her gasmask was the Scout collapsing onto the ground in front of her, his mouth wide open in a strange mixture of relief, terror and pain.

* * *

The BLU Pyro woke up with a start. She didn't have much time to think about her already fading dream when the BLU Scout knelt in front of her. She lazily gazed around and mumbled a muffled, half-hearted 'good morning' to the Scout who promptly grabbed her and shook her wildly.

"Yo muffles!" the Scout shouted as he let go of the dazed mercenary. "We got robots coming!"

The Pyro quickly processed the news as she reached for her fire axe. Out of the corner of her eye; she could make out the Scout running around with his dented aluminum bat, daring the robots to emerge and fight him. Under the mask she rolled her eyes. The boy was much too eager for serious events like this.

* * *

The plan was simple. The soldier-bot had received simple orders to lead a small attack party and capture the payload cart before it reached Kong King. He had even received the orders from Grey Mann himself! But of course the mission couldn't have been as simple as marching in with his force of assorted robots and seizing the payload cart. The humans just had to fight back…

The soldier-bot listened patiently, his face revealed no emotion as the scout-bot in front of him retold his report. The scout-bot's final words were barely able to come out in a ragged wheeze before it collapsed face first into the ground.

The soldier-bot had sent several ahead several other scout-bots to take tabs on their opponents, who were, according to Grey Mann's report, nothing but a "ragtag group of mercenaries", before they launched the attack. Much to the robot's distaste; the only robot that had returned was a scout-bot. Even that robot had barely survived; it had arrived distorted and battered beyond recognition. It had barely been able to deliver the message before finally dying out, reduced to little more than a hollow metal shell.

"You've done me proud…" the soldier-bot muttered before marching back to assemble its army for the ambush.

* * *

Grey Mann wasn't fooling around when he had assembled the army. The army was made up of roughly a hundred of his finest robots. According to his loyal spy-bot, the RED Spy was the one behind the sieges. If this was true, he was determined to make him pay. If the Frenchman thought he had gained the upper hand, he was so incredibly wrong.

The force of robots marched past the wide, tanned, sandstone walls of the large canyon. As usual; the majority of the scout-bots were well ahead of the rest of the group, leaving faint imprints in the sand for the rest of the party to follow. The tracks were just in sight when the mechanical, panicked screams of various robots caught the soldier-bots attention.

He turned back and drew his shotgun just in time to catch sight of a huge boulder crashing into the ground, crushing a good chunk of its legion under it. The results were just as catastrophic as if an asteroid had crashed into the canyon. The shock of the boulder crashing into the Earth kicked up a blinding, suffocating cloud of dust, along with sending several robots flying. Despite this, the worst had yet to come. Before most of the robots could recover, there was a loud rumbling noise as every boulder, rock and pebble came tumbling down the sides of the canyon towards them.

"An avalanche…" the soldier-bot thought. "…probably triggered by the boulder."

A sudden though struck the robot as it searched the top of the canyon walls. Sure enough, he caught a glimpse of dull blue moving about. The robot let out a wicked grin as it raised its rocket launcher and aimed at its fleeting target.

"Come here cupcake." the robot taunted as it stared intently at darting blue blur.

If it was going to die on this mission, it was going to take at least one of them down with it.

"Mmphf mmph!" the Pyro called to the BLU Scout through her gas mask.

The BLU Pyro was in the process in trying to send another boulder tumbling over the edge. It had been the RED Spy's idea to set up the boulders along the top of the walls of the canyon and to simply wait for the legion of robots to march through. After instructing the two mercenaries on what to do, the Spy had disappeared down the side of the canyon walls. Although it hadn't been part of the plan, the avalanche had taken a huge toll on the robots. She really hoped the Frenchman wasn't buried in the pile of mangled robots and crumbled sandstone.

"I got it, I got it!" the Scout shouted as he ran towards the Pyro.

Together, the two mercs threw their weight against the massive boulder until they heaved it onto the surviving robots. After sending the boulder flying, the two mercenaries dove back away from the edge, skillfully avoiding the stream of gunfire that peppered the area that they had just been seconds before.

The duo waited until they heard the familiar sound of the boulder crashing into the canyon floor before daring to check on the results.

"Hey," the Scout began "should I check this time or should you?"

"Mmphf." the Pyro replied, gesturing to herself with a jerk of the thumb as she scurried towards the ledge.

The Scout didn't stop to hesitate. The two of them had become accustomed to the dull pattern that went into their battle strategy. Once the Pyro had taken off, he darted towards the largest boulder he could find and threw his weight against it.

The BLU Pyro poked her head out from over the side of the canyon wall. She gazed around wearily; but from such a great distance it was hard to tell which robots lay in mangled heaps of twisted metal and which ones were just struggling to pick themselves up. She was just about to return to help the Scout send another boulder of the ledge when a thought struck her. Had the soldier-bot been staring at her?

She turned back to stare at the mess of rubble and robots to confirm her suspicion. Moments later, the Pyro dove to the side as a rocket sailed past the place she had just been standing. The Pyro stumbled around awkwardly as she struggled to prepare her flamethrower to reflect the next rocket with a compressed airblast. Unfortunately, the second rocket was already on its way far before she was ready to respond.

The blast of the rocket sent her flying down the side of cliff. She was barely able to hold onto her flamethrower as she plummeted to the ground far below her. Everything seemed slowdown as she desperately grasped at the side of the canyon walls to no avail. The surface of the wall left large tears in her glove, leaving her hands unprotected from the blisters that followed. After what seemed like ages, she crashed onto the metal carcass of a heavy-bot that had was half-buried in a pile of rubble.

The fall hadn't been as bad as she had expected. She felt a sharp numbing pain in her ankle as it broke from the fall. Miraculously, other than the fierce pain that ran up her leg, she was in relatively good shape. She barely had time to recover from the fall when a demo-bot came charging towards her, firing a stream of grenades as it approached.

The Pyro rolled out of the way, ignoring the numbing pain that burnt through her ankle. She steadily got up and let out a gush of compressed air, sending several of the grenades bouncing back towards her opponent. The demo-bot awkwardly stumbled around as if it were trying to decide what to do. Unfortunately for it, there was nothing it could do before blowing up and sending bits of metal flying everywhere.

She stumbled around, scarcely avoiding the streams of gunfire and rockets that ricocheted off the sides of the canyon walls. She was too busy avoiding the gunfire that came from the mobs of robots to notice the towering soldier-bot before she ran right into it. There was loud and satisfying "Thunk!" as she crashed into it. As she stumbled backwards, dazed from the running headfirst into what was literally a wall of metal, she noticed the robot had unsheathed its shovel and was preparing an overhead blow.

The Pyro stepped back and brought up her flamethrower to intercept the blow. There was a loud "Clang!" as the shovel dented one of the flamethrowers many tubes. She aimed the weapon at the menacing robot and pulled the trigger, and she cursed when the flame began to stutter. Her precious weapon had been damaged!

She threw her weapon to the side and prepared for a close quarters encounter. She was just about to engage in combat when a scout-bot carefully approached the soldier-bot from behind. For a robot, the scout-bot was surprisingly silent as it crept towards her opponent. She couldn't hear its steady rhythm of metal boots hitting the ground even as it approached. When it was only several feet away, a butterfly knife appeared in its hand as the robot's image seemed to melt away; revealing a well dressed Frenchman who wore nothing but red.

As if it felt the newcomer's arrival, the soldier-bot glanced over its shoulder just in time to witness the RED Spy plunge his knife into the unprotected small of his back. The solder-bot let out a strangled scream as it collapsed forward.

"Mhoanks" the Pyro called to his comrade who responded with a slight nod.

"It was my pleasure." the Spy replied "Let us move…"

The two of them charged towards the pitifully small legion of robots that had backed themselves up against a wall. Mid run, the Spy switched a dial on his watch and vanished. Moments later, she could see him reappear amongst the group of robots; disguised as one of them.

As she veered to the right to avoid a falling boulder, she switched out to her shotgun and began to take pot-shots at the group of robots that were desperately fending themselves against one another as they tried to determine who the spy was. Everything from there on was chaos.

She shouldered aside a scout-bot that had grazed her with a wild swing from its bat. As the scout-bot staggered backwards, a blue blur rammed into it full force, sending it flying backwards once more. As the robot struggled to get back up, he was held down by the foot of the very human BLU Scout.

"You're dead knucklehead." he spat as he riddled the fallen robot with his pistol.

Before the pyrotechnician could mumble her thanks, the boy darted off. She couldn't help but smile as she saw the Scout bat a baseball towards a robot. The baseball struck it's head at full force, causing it to twirl around and pass out in a comical fashion.

Before she could get to distracted; she took off. Even without her flamethrower she was a force to be reckoned with. With her shotgun in one hand and her fire axe; any robot that dared attack her would be reduced to piles of twisted metal within seconds. She let out a mighty berserker roar as launched herself at the heavy-bot that charged at her, revving up his minigun as he trampled towards.

Unfortunately, while her ferocity in battle caused most of the robots to run in fear at her mere sight; it also made her a target to one robot in particular. A spy-bot, disguised as one of her comrades, was already making its way towards her. It weaved its way through all the chaos and skillfully twirled a butterfly knife around its thumb. So the idiot soldier-bot had failed to kill the mercenaries, big surprise. In the end, it was never leading the mission.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Another cliffhanger? Here's an extra long chapter as promised to make up for the short one last week. At the end of the chapter it's hinted that everyone's favorite robot may pull of an assassination. That reminds me, why is it that we haven't see any other over-powered robots moduled after mercenaries other than the Spy?


	9. Chapter 9

"The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.'"

* * *

The canyon was a warzone. The terrain was littered with large craters and the remains of dead robots. Little skirmishes took place everywhere between the three mercenaries and the surviving robots. A giant heavy-bot was lifting up boulders in the middle of the canyon while the BLU Scout darted around him, skillfully avoiding the boulders the heavy-bot sent hurtling towards him. The RED Spy was stalking the group of robot mercenaries from the shadows, waiting for one to separate themselves from the main group. When one happened to find themselves dawdling behind, he would sneak up behind them and deliver a swift backstab before vanishing into the shadows once more. Despite everything that was going on, the center of attention was without a doubt the BLU Pyro.

She stood up upon a towering pile of discarded robot carcasses and rubble. She fought off the robots that desperately scrambled up the sides of her mound to reach her. Every robot that she defeated would end up joining their fallen comrades in the pile. When a soldier-bot grasped at her legs, the mercenary cranked the pump on her firearm and shotgun blast sent the robot flying. The robots came at her in wave after wave, but her determination seemed to be just as endless.

She swung wildly with her fire axe with one hand and fired shotgun pellets into the sea of robots with her other. She was desperate to keep the hordes of robots away. She was just about to bring her fire axe down onto a sniper-bot that was nearing the top of her mound when a pair of hands grabbed the blade of her fire axe from behind. She turned quickly, struggling to pull it away from her attacker. As she turned, she could briefly see the demo-bot that tried to pry the weapon from her hands. The two of them stumbled around on the mound of rubble, kicking up a cloud of dust as they tried to claim the weapon. Finally, the mercenary simply let go of the fire axe's handle and kicked the demo-bot squarely in the chest; sending it flying into the sea of robots that waited below.

As the demo-bot plummeted to its death, she let out a mighty, victorious war cry that quickly turned into a smothered scream as she felt a sudden stab of pain in her back. She knew the pain all too well. When the respawn machines were still up, when the mercenaries used to fight among themselves, it had been her job to keep the pain away from her teammates. But now she was all alone. There would be no one there to save her as she slipped into darkness, blood splattering the inside of her mask.

* * *

Time seemed to slow down for the BLU Scout as he witnessed the horrible scene unfold in front of him. The BLU Pyro stumbled around awkwardly before slipping off the side of the mound. As his fellow mercenary plummeted towards the ground; the Scout could just make out a spy-bot laughing cruelly as it flicked a cigarette after the Pyro. Instinct took over as he ran as fast as he could towards his falling comrade. Despite his efforts, his feet dragged along like blocks of concrete. For once in his life, he found himself faced with a race he wasn't sure he stood a chance at winning.

Finally, whatever seemed to be slowing him down melted away. He darted forward with his arms outstretched. When he was several feet away, he made a desperate dive towards the spot where he hoped the pyrotechnician would land. Sure enough, he could feel the deadweight of the unconscious mercenary crash into his outstretched arms as the two of them tumbled to the ground.

Ignoring the battle that raged around the two of them, the Scout knelt in front of the unmoving figure fearing the worst. Remembering his limited training, he gently laid his head against the Pyro's mask, impatiently listening for escaping air. He was just about to give up when he heard a faint, shuddering wheeze escape from his comrade's mask.

"You're a survivor, you know that?" he said as he shook his head in disbelief.

Suddenly he became aware that he was still in a warzone. He checked to make sure that the Pyro was still breathing as he laid her unconscious figure against the mound of rubble. Finally he pumped his scattergun and took off. Now that his teammate was safe, he was itching to fight once more.

* * *

The RED Spy watched the whole scene unfold. He was just about to run forward himself, until the boy shouldered him aside with the same idea. He watched him dive forward, catching the pyrotechnician just before she hit the ground. Perhaps the boy could do more than run around and fire a gun after all.

After taking a quick scan of the area, he saw that most of the robots had been taken care of. All of them could be taken care of fairly easily, all except for one. He ran towards a demo-bot that was engaged in combat with the Scout. While the Scout had the robot's attention, he sneaked up behind it and delivered a swift backstab, killing the robot instantly.

"You've done fine work today." he said as he passed the Scout.

The Scout grinned as he nodded his thanks to the Frenchman. But the RED Spy didn't notice. He simply walked past him with one thought in mind. He walked past the unconscious figure of the BLU Pyro. Without a moment's hesitation, he raced forward with his famous butterfly knife in one hand and a loaded revolver in the other. He scampered up the mound of robot carcasses and rubble until he finally managed to pull himself to the top. Just as he expected; his robotic replica was waiting for him at the top with his revolver drawn.

"This ends now!" the RED Spy shouted as he spat his cigarette butt onto the ground.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Nothing much to say about this chapter. However at the beginning I did sneak in a quote... Anyone know who originally said this?


	10. Chapter 10

"Can I help you, Miss Pauling?" the Administrator asked. Her voice was a steely calm, the way it gets when she's really frustrated.

She had spent the last few weeks slaving over the monstrous pile of paperwork that followed the disappearance of her eighteen mercenaries. Despite her efforts of trying to pinpoint their locations, they had simply disappeared without a trace. Her towering wall of monitors would've tracked them down by now; as long as they were within the boundaries of one of Mann Co's various real estates. Mann Co. reached from the mercenaries' current homes in Teufort all the way to the barren wasteland of the Badlands. The mercenaries had no need to leave Mann Co. property, so why would they suddenly choose to desert Mann Co. in its time of need now?

"Any luck yet?" Miss Pauling asked as she walked towards her employer, struggling with a pile of folders, packages and loose papers.

"Not yet." the Administrator grumbled as she buried her forehead into her palms. She turned and grumbled as she saw the towering pile of papers her assistant was carrying. "I'm assuming that's more paperwork for me."

"Just some insurance papers concerning the RED Scout." Miss Pauling replied as she placed the papers onto her desk.

The Administrator cursed under her breath as she looked back and forth between her growing paperwork that was slowly taking over her desk and to the wall of monitors. She looked desperately at the faded and flickering screens for any sign of the mercenaries. Not even a crushed soda can was there to meet her. Finally she slumped down into her chair defeated.

"I swear, sometimes those mercenaries live to annoy me." she muttered as she raised a lit cigarette to her lips and let out a gentle puff.

Miss Pauling simply raised an eyebrow before revealing an envelope from her pocket.

"At least they were kind enough to leave a letter on their whereabouts."

This caught the Administrators attention. She quickly spun her office chair around; carelessly knocking off most of the contents on her desk, and snatched the envelope from Miss Pauling. She held the envelope tenderly in her hands for a moment, as if she were making sure it was real. Finally she began tearing it open.

Miss Pauling took one look at the Administrator and cringed. All she saw in her eyes was a primal hunger for knowledge; something experienced herself far too many times. Finally, her employer carefully peeled the letter from the envelope and unfolded it. Her eyes quickly skimmed the page. Miss Pauling hovered by nervously, anticipating the moment where her employer handed her the letter. This would be the first time they would've received any contact from the mercenaries.

After what seemed like ages the Administrator handed her the letter. Miss Pauling carefully took the page. The edges of the page were folded and there was a slight tear near the bottom. "Funny," she thought. She had assumed they were the first two to receive the letter. Waving the thought aside, she adjusted her glasses with her pinky and brought the letter up to her face.

_As of me writing this letter, the combined forces of the RED and BLU mercenaries are already on their way towards six of Grey Mann's outposts. Our goal is to destroy the six factories, which are currently Grey Mann's most important robot assembly plants, even if it means sacrificing our own lives. I feel I must apologize in advance for any problems our sudden departure may have caused. Attached to this letter is some additional information concerning our mission. I know you may want to stop us, but I believe that this is Mann Co's only hope in fighting back against Grey Mann's rule. However, I must warn you…_

At this point, Miss Pauling frowned. The rest of the letter is faded and the majority of the words are scribbled down hastily. Miss Pauling scowled at the letter, as if she could make the words appear clearly by sheer will. Finally she allowed her eyes to fall to the bottom of the page. Near the bottom of the page, she could just about make out a name in the mass of scribbles.

_Sincerely, the RED Spy._

The Assistant couldn't help but allow a warm smile to show on her lips. The mercenaries were in good hands. But the Spy's warning lingered at the back of her mind, what was the Frenchman's would-be warning? She folded up the letter and returned to her employer. For several moments, they stood in silence; neither of them willing to bring up the question that was on their minds. Yet neither of them was ready to discard it. Would they lend the mercenaries a hand in their mission? Or would they wait for things to play out?

* * *

"Hehey, I'm flyin!" the RED Scout shouted as he propelled himself forward with the blast from his Force-A-Nature.

The RED Demoman rolled his eyes and grunted as he threw his weight against the payload cart. The BLU Spy, who had been pushing the cart beside the Scotsman, suddenly stopped and scowled at the boy.

"Care to give us a hand Scout?" the Frenchman muttered, somehow managing to keep his calm posture as he glared at the boy.

"Why not?!" the Scout said cheerfully "You lazy bums do need me to do this, don't ya?"

The Spy rolled his eyes at the Scout's comment and gestured for the RED Scotsman to take a break. They both knew that the Bostonian could handle the task. After all, his training allowed him to complete objectives like these at the speed of two men. Despite the boy's attempt at a feeble insult, he was glad to take a break.

While the Demoman jogged forward to find a good camp site, the Frenchman stifled a yawn as he rubbed his sore muscles in his arm. He was just about to hop onto the trailer among the packed crates and crumpled sleeping bags when the Scotsman returned. Beads of sweat coated his forehead and his right sleeve was torn.

"Robots, there was entire bloody army of 'em!" the mercenary paused for a second, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "There was something else too; it was huge!"

"Ah jeez; you sure 'bout that Cyclops?! I mean, you were only gone a few minutes. You sure you ain't drunk?" the Scout asked as he jogged towards him, staring at the Scotsman skeptically.

The Scotsman stepped forward, ready to confront him when a resounding "_Clang!"_ rang through the valley. The three mercenaries turned to the source of the noise to see a massive robot trudging towards them. The Spy's jaw dropped as he tried to make sense out of the blurry image of the robot making its way towards them and the seemingly endless sea of robot mercenaries that followed.

The very first thing he noticed was the solid gold crown that lay nested on the giant robot's head. This, along with the sheer size of the robot, proved that this was no ordinary robot. The next thing that caught his attention was the spy-bot that was perched upon the giant robot's shoulder. The smaller robot was armed with two revolvers and was firing into the mass of robots that followed the towering demo-bot. From what the BLU Spy could see, the robot was more concentrated on killing the soldiers that dragged along at the back than actually leading the charge. The final thing he noticed was quite subtle. As a matter of fact, he probably would've missed it if he hadn't risked a second glance. A soldier-bot that marched several paces behind the two robots (who were obviously leading the charge) bore a flag. This was not unusual as most legions under Grey Mann's commands were required to carry at least one flag bearing their identity during battle. However, the flag resembled nothing like Grey Mann's insignia. Rather than the traditional grey "G" that was "bolted" onto the flag, this flag carried the image of an unidentifiable robot's arm reaching for an oddly shaped book.

Out of the corner of his eyes, the BLU Frenchman caught sight of the RED Scout swinging his battered wooden bat over his shoulder and the RED Demoman gritting his teeth as he took aim with his sticky bomb launcher.

"Gentlemen, I do believe we have an interesting fight on our hands."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This chapter is LONG over due. I haven't had much time to work on it recently, but that wont happen again (hopefully!).


	11. Chapter 11

The three mercenaries had their own ways for getting for battle. The RED Demoman would take a long and satisfying swig from a bottle of brandy before checking the chambers on his grenade launcher. The RED Scout would admire his reflection in a small mirror as he pampered himself with compliments and chugs from his soda cans. The BLU Spy however was much more professional, unlike his colleagues. After straightening his suit, he checked and reloaded the chambers on his revolver before slipping it back into his suit. He had a feeling this battle would not be fought with brute strength, or even fought at all.

The three mercenaries, led by the BLU Spy, marched towards the hulking robot Demoman and the Frenchman's robot duplicate that stood perched between the robot's massive shoulder blades. The two Spies exchanged a glance and an unspoken exchange passed between the two of them. This confrontation would not result in violence; just as the Spy had hoped. Already, he could feel a huge weight lift from his shoulders. When the two groups were only a few paces away from each other, the Spy-bot dismounted from the larger robot and easily closed the gap between them. The BLU Spy carefully glanced at his two comrades that stood on either side of him. Although he had gone over the plan carefully with his colleagues, he was still unsure of the outcome. Even though the plan was simple; find out what the squad of robots intentions were and be on their way, he couldn't have wound up with any worse partners.

As the Spy-bot approached the trio, it extended its hand towards the mercenary he assumed to be in charge, who was coincidently the BLU Frenchman. In exchange, the mercenary promptly shook its hand as if it were an old friend.

"You better watch it paley, or I'm gonna head-butt ya!" the RED Scout shouted as he demonstrated a swing with his bat that narrowly missed the Scotsman.

As the Scotsman let out a cry of surprise, the Frenchman rolled his eyes and quickly addressed the Spy-bot.

"You'll have to excuse my colleagues;" he began "they're not so used to, _formal_, confrontations like these."

The robot merely let out a hollow, metallic chuckle as it released the mercenary's hand.

"It is quite alright," it replied. Its voice was dull and its facial features revealed little. "I do believe you have already guessed that we are not a part of Grey Mann's army…"

"Indeed," he replied, all humor immediately faded from him as he pried his hand from the Spy-bot's firm grip "now tell me; who does your legion serves?"

The Scout and the Demoman, shocked by the Frenchman's sudden change in attitude, briefly paused to stare at him before returning to rolling around, brawling in a cloud of dust. The robot however, seemed to be unfazed by the mercenary's spike of anger. It merely allowed a crooked grin as if it were amused by the Spy's uncomfort.

"We have left the fool Grey Mann to serve our new leader, the great wizard Merasmus!"

As the Spy-bot cried out the dark magician's name its eyes lit up bright purple. The three mercenaries jumped back as the robot let out a hollow menacing cackle. The first one to recover from the shock was the RED Scout who immediately stumbled towards the possessed robot, who had appeared to have settled down.

"Listen pal," the Scout grumbled "old Casper has got nothin' on us. We've dominated the stupid wizard plenty of times. Heck, the lunatic could barely handle a card trick!"

"Fools!" the robot boomed, making the three mercenaries cringe "The rise of Grey Mann was all our leader needed to recover his strength. He is a strong as ever!"

The Demoman quickly pulled the Bostonian back before he could cause anymore damage. The Spy rushed forward to quickly to hastily repair the damage the boy had caused.

"You must excuse my colleague," he began "we have had… unfavorable run-ins with your leader in the past. However, I believe that the past is the past."

"Wise words to live by." the robot said smugly "However, this brings us to the reason behind my legions arrival. Under the orders of the great wizard, we would like to form an alliance against Grey Mann's rule."

The mercenaries exchanged weary glances with each other. Finally the Demoman broke away from the trio and addressed the robot.

"How do you know we can trust you?" the Scotsman asked, staring at the robot skeptically.

"You don't have much of a choice, do you?" the robot said, allowing a smug smirk to show on his lips. "Against Grey Mann, you are heavily outnumbered. However, if you were to ally yourselves with our legion; you could add roughly a thousand to your numbers. Without us, your rebellion is just a lost cause."

The Spy gritted his teeth in frustration as he realized the reality of what his robot duplicate was saying. He was about to accept his "doppelganger's" when the Scout shouldered him aside.

"One question tin can," he said. "What's in it for us?"

"Well to begin," the robot replied, clearly bemused by the question. "We don't kill you and let you and the rest of your _bomb squad_ get on your way." the robot spat the words as if it were an insult so terrible, it left a foul taste in his mouth. "Also, the great wizard is willing to send seven of our finest soldiers to escort you to your destination."

"How do you know about our mission." the Spy replied, suspicion laying heavily in his voice.

"It does not matter how I know," the robot replied, straining to keep his voice calm. "All that matters is that you and your misfit band of mercenaries lack the military power to overthrow Grey Mann. Without the armies of the great wizard behind you; your team will crumble defending a hopeless cause. Those who survive the onslaught will become prisoners of war or will attempt to escape the mindless slaughter to no avail."

The trio exchanged looks with each other, neither of them daring to break the silence. Finally, in an unspoken agreement; the BLU Frenchman broke away from the group and met the Spy-bot. For what seemed like ages, the two spies remained in silence as the Scotsman and the Bostonian stood back, watching the scene unfold. Finally, the Spy allowed a grimace to creep onto his face as he stuck out his hand.

"I do believe we have an agreement."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

It looks like we have a new player in our little games. This could get quite interesting...


End file.
